Before, I didn’t feel the eyes on me while wandering through the woods, but now I couldn’t shake the feeling. Nubi floated ahead of me as I walked beneath the tree branches. Leaves, so thick that only particles of light streamed through, seemed to whisper as wind rustled through them. I could see faint traces of the sky, but out the corner of my eye, shadows moved and I made sure not to look up for too long. A map would have been useful right about now especially one that’d help me find Shali’s position but I was grateful for the lack of prying eyes.
At least, ones that could get me into more trouble than what I already was.
Uncel called me a Windwalker and after checking through my Skills, I found the same word written under the description for the Hero of Air ability. There was something about it being connected to Elios. From how it was worded, I wondered if Elios was some sort of deity, like the One Who Connected All. If Uncel knew about Windwalkers, then it was just as likely for Elios and maybe the person I was meant to be. The thought was a bit too hopeful but I had little else to go off of and a bit of hope was needed in comparison to dreading some unknown enemy.
Sinaba was a quiet town. Its people seemed nice and the few I’d met thus far were involved heavily but also wary. For good reason. Aside from Rhesh and the others, what enemy could be lurking around the corner? Uncel said that they’d teach me the basics but even with what I knew and what little understanding I had — what good could I do?
I sighed.
“Air, if you keep sighing so much, all of your happiness will spill out.” Nubi circled around my head a few times, particles of light trailing after them. “Heslot Pond should be somewhere nearby, we’ll find her soon.”
I waved away and sneezed lightly when the glims brushed against my nose, rubbing it with a little sniffle. “How are we supposed to find one pond in a forest?” Without a doubt, there would be plenty and there wouldn’t be a sign simply telling us we were in the right place. Around a bend of trees, my feet carried me and I’d scarcely begun walking through the bushes when I noticed something thin protruding from one of the tree trunks.
Looking around, I couldn’t see anything but miles of green undisturbed.
“It might be a trap,” I grumbled, nudging the grass and bushes aside with my staff to check for anything metal. Gentle taps against the soil didn’t bring the creaking snap of iron jaws or a monster lying in wait but I wasn’t going to take any chances. “Check ahead, Nubi?”
Nubi smiled and nodded, their body shining in the weak light. It illuminated the strange object and to my relief, it was only an arrow. There was a chance that the arrow belonged to Uncel which also could have meant there were still rats lingering around here. I didn’t do well with confrontation and fear even less. Grasping my staff with two hands, I reared it back over my shoulder then swung downward, a blast of air arced off its curve and ricocheted through the wood. Rustling and uprooting a few small bushes, leaves raining down over me and further down the path, and I could hear the startled cry of a few birds and animals.
“What was that for?” Nubi asked, and I looked up to see their disapproving glare.
“I was just… making sure there wasn’t any surprises, is all…”
Nubi shook their head. “Well, what if you accidentally bring one to us?”
Oh. I hadn’t really thought of that. If I was honest, I wanted to try out this new power too but Uncel’s words came to mind.
A good lesson for you to learn next time you decide to try magic in a place that might not be so favorable.
I bowed my head and thumbed at the nick in my staff from Uncel’s arrow. “… Sorry.”
Nubi must have decided I’d been scolded enough because they turned away and floated back to the arrow. I followed suit, sure-footed now that I knew nothing was in the grass. It took some work and I wasn’t proud to say that I’d almost fallen over trying to pull the arrow free. My staff propped against the tree trunk, hands grasping the arrow’s shaft as I twisted and turned. Foot pressed to the bark while I strained to pull it free. Nothing seemed to make it budge.
Eventually, my arms felt tired and I decided to give up, a little rumble from my stomach leaving us to take a break. One of the bushes I’d cleared shown a stump beneath it and I sat down, reaching into my inventory to pull out three of the red berries and the Stamina Potion. I offered a berry to Nubi, not minding them munching away on it while perched on my shoulder. The Stamina Potion sat in the palm of my hand and I turned it one way then the other, observing the slide of the yellow liquid.
“It only works on Players, right?” I mumbled out loud and Nubi gave a curious lilting hum, looking up to me. Berry juice stained their face a light shade of pink and I smiled, shaking my head. “Just worrying.”
“You do a lot of that lately,” Nubi said between bites and I snorted, looking up to the arrow.
Why wouldn’t it move? I couldn’t wrap my mind around it one way or the other but something was definitely strange about it. Careful not to jostle Nubi, I propped my elbow up on my thigh and pressed my chin to my fist.
The tip couldn’t be seen and the shaft seemed ordinary, just a thin scrap of wood, and what was the feathers at the end called again?
“Fletching.”
Ah, right. Fletching.
My body seized and I twisted around ignoring Nubi’s cry. That voice wasn’t mine and it hadn’t come from inside of my head. Standing a few paces behind me was a girl who seemed more amused than startled by my flailing around. I wasn’t sure if I should be grateful or annoyed that she waited until I grabbed my staff to approach. Holding it between us almost made me feel ridiculous because she approached without fear, side-stepping me with a sidelong glance. The arrow that refused to budge fit seamlessly in the palm of her right hand and slid from the tree smoothly at her pull.
“Grandma was right, you really are easy to scare.”
Hesitantly, I lowered my staff. Grandma?
“Shali?”
“Are you asking me or are you telling me?”
I could almost see the resemblance. Shali’s brown eyes crinkled at the corners, her cheeks rounded and in the light provided by Nubi, I could see patches of pale pink along brown skin. Her smile lit up her entire face and showed rows of white teeth. Her right hand offered to me after the arrow was secured in the quiver slung around her torso. I shifted from my staff from one hand to the other, offering her my own in a firm shake that nearly took my arm from my shoulder.
“I’m just teasing. That’s me,” she squeezed my hand then let go, thumping a fist against her chest. “You’re a little late though, but I guess so am I if Grandma sent you after me.”
Out of lack of anything else to say, I nodded numbly and muttered, “She said we won’t have supper if we’re late…”
Instantly, Shali’s eyes bulged. Her head swiveled one way then the other. A mass of braids whipping through the air and nearly brushing shy of my nose when I leant a bit closer to see what it is she was looking for. Sniffling and wiggling my nose to ensure it hadn’t been lopped off, I pulled my hand away then rubbed at it with my wrist. Nubi took the opportunity to float over to Shali and gesture to the arrow.
“Did you use that as a marker?” They asked.
Panic shot through me when Nubi spoke to her so casually but where I thought Shali would exclaim in surprise, she only looked to Nubi then lifted the arrow with pride.
“Yep. The forest gets a bit darker around this time, and some of the spirits like to play tricks. It’s easier to have a physical reminder.”
I sighed and rubbed the back of my head as they started talking about the arrow.
Someone could have warned me before I started running around that the forest was this complicated.
“— And that’s Air, they sigh a lot but they’re very dependable,” Nubi said, and I perked up at the introduction then glared at them.
“I do not sigh a lot.”
Shali snorted. “You just sighed a second ago.”
“That doesn’t count,” I griped.
Shali’s shoulder raised in a shrug. “We could talk about it or gather up what Grandmother needed so we’re not making our own supper outside.”
Nubi’s chiming laughter carried through the woods as they followed after Shali. I didn’t know how to cook to save my life and with my skill being as low as it was, I didn’t want to know what’d happen if I tried. I’d almost sighed again when I caught them both looking at me and quickly snapped my mouth shut, running after them.
“I’m not sighing!” I yelled, but I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince anymore.
As we walked through the wood, I learned a few things from Shali. There were several arrows embedded in trees along the path she took leading back to Heslot Pond. And she’d found us because I touched one of the arrows. I told her about Uncel’s lessons and she laughed, saying that I wouldn’t have been able to free the arrows. They weren’t attuned to neither air nor fire. Proudly, she stated that her element was earth and she’d been learning from Ysmur. My guilt must have shown on my face because she asked if I’d met Ysmur and I carefully retold the story of her club exploding in my hands.
Nubi might have scolded me for sending a blast of air through the forest but Shali’s ringing laughter could’ve brought the entirety of the wood down on our heads. I wanted to say it wasn’t that funny but I guess I didn’t mind all that much. It felt nice being able to laugh at one of my mistakes rather than feel I was going to die because of it.
“Alright, right around… here.”
With one of the last arrows removed and stuck in her quiver, Shali knelt down in a bush and yanked me down by my sleeve. She combed some of the leaves aside and pointed. Through the small opening, I peeked and shifted slightly when Nubi wiggled between us to see. Sometimes, the forest’s canopy had been so thick that Nubi’s light was the only source to guide us. Over the pond’s waters, the canopy broke allowing a view of the sky, light pouring in and shining across its waters. The sun must have been setting because the pond was light pink and the few animals that came to graze along its shores and drink from its waters were bathed in a soft glow. It seemed rude to disturb the moment but I remembered what Granny Fu’s order was.
Some of the animals left without being disturbed but there were a few prickle boar that emerged from the forest.
“We try to guarantee them a peaceful death,” Shali whispered to me. “They help us stay alive so the least we can do is give them that.”
From what I knew, prickle boar weren’t generally accepting of a peaceful death. The one I’d encountered tried to skewer me on sight. Shali glanced at me and raised a brow. “You intruded on its territory,” she interjected, and I wondered if she could read my thoughts. “It was only trying to defend its home.”
Shame cropped up alongside the feeling that I’d been right but both were set aside when I noticed two of the boars begin to make their way through the grass. They were almost in unison as if they were strolling together and upon stopping seemed to regard something hidden. One leant down and began to eat while the other lifted its head and looked about. Its eyes seemed to find ours as it looked dead ahead and I clutched my staff tighter.
Shali’s hand laid over mine and I looked at her confused. She shook her head then nodded forward and I followed suit, staring at the prickle boar as it stared back. Once the grazing one finished, it slowly laid in the grass and its eyes closed. The gazing one closed its eyes and I felt a sense of finality, a strange calm washing over me as it began to eat it in the same spot the other had. Something inside - however small - felt grateful as the boar laid down beside its companion.
They were so still, as if they were resting.
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